I greet you in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I have prayerfully decided to preach from the book of Philippians. The book of Philippians was one of four letters which was written by the Apostle Paul while he was imprisoned, together with Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon. The Bible states very clearly that Paul was the author of this book. There was also external evidence proving that Paul wrote the book of Philippians. For example, many Church fathers like Polycarp, the disciple of John; Irenaeus, the disciple of Polycarp; Clement of Alexandria; and Tertullian, they all agreed that Paul was the one who wrote Philippians.
The name Philippi was named after Philip II of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great. During Paul's time, Philippi was the leading city of Macedonia. Apparently, Paul wrote Philippians while he was imprisoned in Rome, about AD 60 to 62, which means it was about 30 years after the Lord Jesus appeared to him and called him on the road to Damascus. You see, Paul never wanted to go to Philippi to establish the church at Philippi; it was never his will. It was God's will. According to Acts 16, which we have read in our responsive reading, Paul was in Troas. He wanted to go down to Bithynia, but during the night he saw a vision of a man from Macedonia who appeared to him, asking him to go over to Macedonia to preach the gospel. Immediately the next day, Paul got onto a boat and sailed toward Macedonia. He landed in the port city of Neapolis, and from there he travelled inward or inland toward the city of Philippi.
When he was in Philippi on the Sabbath day, Paul and his missionary team went outside the city and they saw a group of women praying by the riverside. Paul ministered to this group of women. One of them was Lydia, a wealthy woman selling purple garments in the city of Thyatira. Lydia believed, and subsequently, her family also believed. Later on, Paul delivered a demon-possessed slave girl who was used by her masters to make money through fortune-telling. When Paul delivered her, the masters saw that their ill-gotten source of income was broken by this man. They were so angry that they got Paul and Silas arrested and thrown into prison. While they were imprisoned, Paul and Silas were singing praises to God. All of a sudden, there was a great earthquake, and the foundations of the prison were shaken. The doors were all opened. The amazing thing was that none of the prisoners had escaped. The keeper of the prison was about to kill himself; perhaps he thought he would be killed anyway if the prisoners had escaped. That was when Paul stopped him immediately and said, “Do thyself no harm; we are all here.” The Philippian jailer, who was trembling, asked, “What must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31).
After Paul was released from prison, he went straight to the house of Lydia, and it was believed that the Philippian church was started from there. The Philippians loved Paul very much; they supported his ministry. They were very concerned about him when they heard that he was arrested and put into prison. So one of the reasons why Paul wrote this letter was to show his appreciation to them, as well as to update the Philippians on his current situation. There was also another reason: because some legalistic Judaizers had infiltrated the church, and there were also some issues about church unity which Paul had to deal with. These are just some brief backgrounds on the book of Philippians.
The title of our message is “The Church at Philippi.” Let us read verses 1 and 2: “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Although these verses are just greetings, nonetheless we can still draw some valuable lessons. Paul began by introducing himself and Timothy as servants of Jesus Christ. The word “servants” literally means “slaves” (doulos). Basically, a slave's life has one purpose and one purpose only: to serve his master. But no one can become a servant of Christ unless he realises that by nature he already is a slave. He is a slave to sin. In ancient times, there were three ways a person could become a slave. Firstly, a person could become a slave by conquest. When another country conquers your land, you become a slave. Secondly, a person could become a slave by birth; any child born to slave parents automatically became a slave. Thirdly, a person could become a slave because of debt. Some poor people would sell their children or even themselves into slavery to pay off a debt.
Interestingly, the Bible teaches that all men living on the face of this earth are slaves to sin in ways similar to those who became physical slaves in ancient times. Firstly, all human beings are born in sin. David says in Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” There was never a moment in his life that David was not a sinner. There was never a part of David’s life that was not contaminated. Secondly, all human beings are slaves by conquest; they are bound by their sins. That is why Proverbs 5:22 says, “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.” In other words, his iniquities will capture him and he will be bound by the cords of his own sins, whether it be adultery, sexual immorality, gambling, or drug addiction. We are bound by our sins. Thirdly, all human beings are sinners by death. Remember, Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” There is a price to pay for being a sinner.
My friend, if you are an unbeliever, whether you like it or not, whether you agree with it or not, you are a slave to sin. The only way you can be set free from slavery is to pay the price of redemption. But even if you die a million times, you can never pay the price of redemption because you have to be perfect; you have to be someone who has committed no sin before you are able to do that. Jesus Christ is the only one who is sinless and perfect. He came into this world, He suffered, He died on the cross, and shed His precious blood to pay the price of redemption—not for His own sins, because He had none, but for your sins and my sins. No one can ever pay for his own salvation; no one can ever earn his own salvation. What we cannot earn and cannot buy, God will freely give on the basis of the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. You have to come to Jesus, believe in Him, turn away from your sins, embrace Him, and He alone can set you free. John 8:36 says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” But a person must know that he is sick before he will go to see the doctor, right? In a similar fashion, a person must know that he is spiritually dead, he is enslaved spiritually, then he will turn to the only one who can set him free.
Some people may argue, “But it is still slavery, isn’t it? It is just an exchange of slavery from one master to another, from sin to Christ. You are still a slave, a servant of Jesus Christ.” That is why some people would say, “Look, you Christians must go to church, you must give of your tithes and offerings, you must worship, you must serve, you must attend all the spiritual activities.” To them, religion is nothing but slavery. It is true that we have been slaves to sin, but now we are servants of Jesus Christ. But it is different; it is a bondage of love and gratitude.
If I may give you an illustration, it could closely be compared to a marriage. If you are married, you are not free to do anything you want. You are not free to marry another person, you are not free to leave the home, to abandon your spouse, or to neglect your spouse. But you are free—free to serve, free to give, free to offer yourself, free to love. Likewise, it is true that Christ rules over you. He is your master, He is your Lord. But you serve Him not in a kind of slavery in the past like you were enslaved in sin. You serve Him with love, with peace, with joy, with this willingness in your heart. You are free to serve Him sacrificially and most lovingly.
From introducing himself and Timothy as servants of Jesus Christ, Paul went on to say, “To all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi.” The word “saints” means “holy ones” or “set apart.” If you are a true believer, you are a saint; you were made holy by Christ. God has set you apart unto Himself. Take note of the little word “in” as in “Christ Jesus.” All believers are saints not because they themselves are righteous, but because they are in their Lord Christ Jesus. They are imputed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
The Roman Catholic Church believes that they have the power to canonise a person to be a saint, but the church has no such power. Only God alone has the power to set a person apart unto Himself. The Roman Catholic Church has this strange idea about saints. According to their understanding, a saint is someone who is dead and is in Heaven, most of the time having been martyred or having done many good works during their lifetime, and they must be responsible for at least one miracle. Then the Roman Catholic Church will canonise the person to be a saint. So they have Saint Teresa, Saint Nicholas, Saint Anne, and so forth. They are all dead.
But if you read through the Bible, for example, when Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, he said in 1 Corinthians 1:2, “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.” When he wrote to the church at Ephesus, he said in Ephesians 1:1, “To the saints which are at Ephesus.” And here we read Paul wrote to the church at Philippi and he said, “To all the saints in Christ Jesus which are in Philippi.” You would be foolish to think that Paul was writing to a group of dead people, a group of dead saints in Ephesus, in Corinth, or in Philippi. Right? He was simply writing to those believers who were alive at that time, and they were saints, not dead people. Saints are not special people, also called supernatural people. They are just like you and me. David was an adulterer, Jeremiah was a rebellious prophet, Jonah tried to run away from God, Peter denied the Lord three times. They were saints simply because God has set them apart unto Himself.
My friends, if you are a believer, you are a saint. God has made you holy; God has set you apart unto Himself. You are no longer belonging to Satan; you are no longer a victim of the bondage of sin. You have entered into a new relationship with the Almighty God because of your union with Jesus Christ. Isn’t that wonderful? The only reason today why we do not address one another as saints is because of the misconception associated with the word “saints.” But you and I are truly saints—holy ones set apart, separated unto God. So Christians are servants of Jesus Christ and they are saints.
Now, look at the end of verse one with the bishops and deacons. The word “bishops” is from where we get the English word for “episcopal.” Basically, it means an overseer. This is a reference to the elders in the Philippian church. The church is ruled by elders, and when the work of the ministry has grown and is overwhelming, deacons will be nominated and elected to serve tables—like caring for the sick, the needy, the widows, the orphans, and dealing with administrative and logistical matters—so that the elders can focus on the Word and prayers. You can read about that in Acts chapter 6. By the way, there are two types of elders in the church: ruling elders and teaching elders. A pastor is an elder; he’s a teaching elder. 1 Timothy 5:17 says, “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour.” That is a reference to the ruling elders. And then Paul went on to say, “Especially they who labour in the Word and doctrine.” That is a reference to the teaching elders, the pastors. So, the bishops, church leaders, and deacons are officials elected to assist them.
Whenever we think of this word “leaders,” we always think of those people who are up there, high and mighty, like the CEOs and chairmen of multinational corporations—those so-called leaders in the secular world. But I like to draw your attention to the word “with”—with the bishops and deacons. Some people who hold offices in the church, they want to dominate those who are put under their church; they want to be over the people, or at least be above them in authority and honour. But that should not be the way. See, Paul was speaking to the bishops and deacons who were working together with the believers. They were all called saints, set apart unto God. Before that, Paul introduced himself and Timothy. How did he introduce them? They were servants of Christ Jesus. There’s nothing for us to be proud of. Please do not look at pastors, elders, and deacons as a separate group of people. Obviously, some people would have to lead the church, and God would ordain some to be leaders, but they work together with the believers, not work over the believers. And they work together for the glory of God. My friends, this is the way God wants us to serve as a church.
Paul went on to say in verse 2, “Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” We know grace and peace are warm greetings, but do we really know what they mean? To some people, grace simply means good manners, and peace is simply the opposite of trouble. But these words mean much more; they refer to the deepest of spiritual realities. This “grace be unto you” is God’s grace. Now consider this: What do you deserve from God? What do you think you deserve from God our heavenly Father? Do you deserve His love, that He be gracious to you, that He bless you? Indeed, God is gracious to us and He loves us, but why? On what basis? Is it because of what we have done, or is it because of what we have given to the church? Is it because of our services, because of our repentance, our virtues? No. What about some of the terrible things we have done? What about our disobedience? What about our rejections? What about our rebellion? It is simply because of God’s grace. Perhaps the best way to understand God’s grace is found in Romans 5:8. “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Our Lord Jesus, when He died for us, He died not because you and I are good, not because you and I have done certain good things. While we were yet sinners, totally depraved, Christ died on the cross of Calvary. If we really want to understand the grace of God, we must begin with the knowledge that God has acted graciously toward us in Christ Jesus, totally independently and entirely apart from human works, apart from anything we have done or not done. We deserve hell, do you agree? At the hands of the Almighty God. But in the sovereign economy of God, we receive His grace instead. We would probably expect to scrape through hell—just barely scrape through hell—and yet the Bible says, “And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:14). In other words, God not only has saved us by His grace, but He has continuously been showering His grace exceedingly abundantly upon our lives. Just reflect upon our lives, and you will be able to see the grace of God, the abounding, exceeding grace of God that we have received. Last week, I shared with the congregation that my flight from Singapore to Melbourne was delayed and cancelled for three days. I had to spend three days in Singapore, half the time in the airport. The people were screaming and shouting in the airport. We can understand their frustration. I was frustrated. Apparently, the delay and cancellation was due to a major engine problem. Take a moment and consider this: a major engine problem. What would have happened if the engineers and technicians did not find out about the major engine problem and a plane took off? That would have been a disaster, right? I would not be standing here speaking to you this morning. Yet no one has given thanks for that; no one has shown any appreciation for that—only complaints. That tells us a lot about the human heart and mind. We always focus on the problems, and we always complain about the inconveniences, and we forget about the bountiful grace and blessings we have received in our lives every day. We face challenges, unforeseen circumstances, afflictions, struggles, troubles, sicknesses, temptations. We receive provisions, protection, opportunities, good health, and strength, yet we are so ungrateful. The only murmuring, complaint—never grateful to the Almighty God. How can that be? May the Lord forgive us. God is so gracious and merciful to us.
What about peace? Peace comes from God. Grace is the unmerited and abounding favour that God has shown to men, and the result of His grace shown to us is peace. It is the result of men being reconciled to God through the death of His Son—the peace that was obtained by Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. Think about this peace of God. Because of our sins, you and I are never at peace with God. We are enemies of God; we are at war with God. We are at war with each other and we are always at war with ourselves. That is why there’s so much misery in this world. There’s so much unrest in this world. But God gives us peace—His perfect peace—and He does that in Jesus Christ. If you want peace, He will give you peace, but you must come to His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. My friend, do you have this peace of God? Have you experienced this peace of God? Or is your heart empty of this peace, only filled with worries, anxieties, and the cares of this world? If you are, you need to trust completely in the salvation of the Almighty God, and you need to learn to trust in Him continuously. If you do that, the Bible says God will give you His peace that will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Notice it is always grace before peace, and not peace before grace. You can never have peace apart from the grace of God.
Yesterday, I was standing at the foyer of the church and I was browsing some of the books we have there, and I saw this Noah’s Ark in a glass cabinet at the side of the door. For a moment, I thought of the story of Noah—how he built the ark, how he preached to the people for almost 120 years, and then the great flood. For the first time, it rained and waters from the fountains beneath the earth came forth. How God intervened and saved Noah and his immediate family. How God promised never again to destroy this earth by water. All those things were wonderful and marvelous, but they could only happen if it begins with grace. It always begins with grace. That is why Genesis 6:8 tells us, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Without this grace, you will never have all these marvelous things happening. The same goes with the story of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon. The same goes with all the saints throughout all ages. It is their story as well as our story. Our lives begin with God’s grace. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, was it because you sought after God? Was it because you have always been running after God? Did you start to find Him the very moment you were born? Of course not. In fact, if you ever did anything, you were running away from God. It was God who had to pursue after you. We never seek God; when we found Him, it is simply because He first sought after us by His grace. If we ever love Him, it is because He first loved us. When we respond to His grace, God pours out His peace unto us. That is why today we can say to one another, “Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Trials may come, tribulations may come, even death may come. But in our deepest struggles, in the most intense trouble and pain, you and I can still have this peace that passes all understanding. Grace and peace be unto you. Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven, as we consider the introduction to the book of Philippians, we thank Thee for enabling us to learn about what it means to be servants of Jesus Christ, what it means to be saints. We believers are called saints, and the bishops and deacons whom Thou hast called to serve Thee—not to lord themselves over Thy people, but to work together with the believers. O Lord, as we continue in our study of this book of Philippians, help us to draw valuable lessons that we may learn to apply into our local church here, into our families, into our own individual lives. Thy word is infallible, inerrant; Thy word is inspired by Thee and is sufficient for us at every moment, every day of our lives. Help us to be faithful and diligent as we study Thy word, rightly applying the word of truth into our lives. We give Thee thanks, and we pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.